Buyout firm EQT Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are nearing an agreement with Bain Capital to buy a majority stake in its Waystar business in a deal valuing the health-care technology company at US$2.7 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bain plans to retain a minority holding in the business following the transaction, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The deal would be one in a surge of health-care technology company transactions in the past year.

A representative for EQT declined to comment. Bain, Waystar and CPPIB didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Bain created Waystar in 2017 by combining Navicure and ZirMed. Waystar, based in Louisville, Kentucky, makes software that helps more than 450,000 health-care providers manage payments by navigating the reimbursement and payments system for patients, hospitals and insurers.

The deal comes as Bain has been in talks to buy a minority stake in two other health-care technology companies, Zelis Healthcare and RedCard, which are being combined by owner Parthenon Capital, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

Ares, Leonard Green

Other private equity equity firms are also looking toward health care’s data and information technology segment. A group led by Ares Management Corp. and Leonard Green & Partners agreed to buy health-survey business Press Ganey Associates Inc. in June. The deal valued the company at more than US$4 billion, people with knowledge of the matter had said.

Also in June, UnitedHealth Group Inc. agreed to buy health-care payments business Equian LLC for US$3.2 billion, people familiar with the matter said at the time. Veritas Capital and Elliott Management Corp. agreed last year to buy Athenahealth Inc. for US$5.7 billion.